Sturgeon Are Being Temporarily Removed From Two MI Rivers

Two Michigan rivers with have their juvenile lake sturgeon removed temporarily in order to protect them from chemical treatments.

According to WOOD, the Department of Natural Resources and Native American tribes are working together to help remove young sturgeon from the Big Manistee and Muskegon rivers. They want to protect the juvenile fish from chemical treatments that are targeting the sea lamprey problem.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service have to treat rivers that run into the the Great Lakes in order to kill the lampreys that are an invasive fish.

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Gun Lake Tribe will work with the DNR to catch the young sturgeon then keep them in facilities to help them grow healthy until the treatments are done and it's safe for the fish to return to the water. The process usually takes a couple months to complete.

The last time a treatment was done to the Big Manistee River, 117 lake sturgeon were caught and then later released.